Go Loco with Cocoloco - Men's Folio
Interview, Lifestyle

Go Loco with Cocoloco

  • By Yong Wei Jian

Cocoloco has been around for three years now. How are things?

We are in the midst of rebranding; when we first started we did everything in-house so our design was minimalistic, but that doesn’t work on the shelves because most people can’t identify with it. So we decided to change up our look and make it more retail-friendly. We are also developing three new juices — watermelon, kiwi and mango — under a different brand (Cocoloco is too coconut-centric) but with the same concept: straight from the fruit, minimally processed, with no preservatives and additives.

Does coconut water live up to its health hype?

For us, we don’t really focus on the health aspect, but rather the taste and quality of the beverage. We want to create something that is as close to the fresh fruit as possible, because we felt there was a huge difference between actual fresh Thai coconut and what’s being sold in packets. As for the hype over the past couple of years, people are more educated now so they’re starting to discover the health benefits of coconut water, even though the fruit has been around for centuries. That helps because we’re basically selling the next best thing to fresh coconut.

What do you consider to be “eating well”?

A balanced diet and keeping processed foods as low as possible. I guess I try to watch what I eat recently, but not obsessively so.

What’s the best way to enjoy coconut water?

Personally, I drink it straight from the fruit. [Laughs] But there are various ways of enjoying coconut water. I tried mixing it with Sailor Jerry rum and it tasted pretty interesting; vodka goes well with it as well. And when you consume the whole fruit you get the meat as well, which contains coconut oil — another health product that is up and coming. So there you go.

 

[Credits: Fendi Garbadine jacket, cotton pants; MSGM Cotton polo shirt]

 

Photography Cher Him

Photography Assistant Jacqueline Chang

Styling Belda Chung

Grooming Benedict Choo using MAC Cosmetics